Comey Created A Trump Paper Trail…And Here Is The First Crumb

A memo written by former FBI director James Comey shows that President Trump asked Comey to shut down the federal investigation into Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser.

According to Comey’s memo, Trump said, “I hope you can let this go.”

As the New York Timesreports, “The existence of Mr. Trump’s request is the clearest evidence that the president has tried to directly influence the Justice Department and F.B.I. investigation into links between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia.”

The memo was written immediately after the meeting between Trump and Comey took place, which means the meeting between the two occurred the day after Flynn resignedin February. Flynn’s resignation followed revelations that he had contacts with Russia prior to Trump taking office – and had lied about it. Furthermore, according to the Times report, the memo is simply “part of a paper trail Mr. Comey created documenting what he perceived as the president’s improper efforts to influence a continuing investigation.”

Which, of course, means that this could be simply one piece of written evidence in a long chain of written evidence. And, unfortunately for the Trump administration, notes written by FBI agents during an ongoing investigation typically hold up in court as credible. In fact, two people have stated that Comey created other, similar memos – some classified – that detail every phone call and meeting Comey held with Trump, although the FBI has, thus far, declined to comment.

Trump Asserted That Flynn Was A ‘Good Guy’

“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Comey’s memo claims the president said. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”

“While the president has repeatedly expressed his view that General Flynn is a decent man who served and protected our country, the president has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn. The president has the utmost respect for our law enforcement agencies, and all investigations. This is not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the president and Mr. Comey.”